Bielefeld, Germany - An elderly man who stormed a gathering of Jehovah's Witnesses Thursday, armed with a machine gun, had planned a rampage, police in the northern German city of Bielefeld said on Friday. The 82-year-old, who burst into the community centre Thursday evening, had written private notes announcing his intention to fire a gun into the gathering, the police said.
A technical fault prevented the weapon from firing.
More than 80 people were present at the meeting of Jehovah's Witnesses, when the masked man entered at 8:45 pm (1845 GMT).
A guard had seen him arrive and alerted the congregation so members could leave through an emergency exit. Nobody was injured.
The octogenarian is thought to have entered the cleared room and left immediately. Shortly thereafter he appeared at the emergency exit, without his mask.
Ignoring the group of people gathered by the exit, the man headed for his car. As he turned his back to the gathering, two of the congregation members grabbed him and held him until police arrived.
Officers also found a samurai sword, three clips of bullets and a knife in the man's car, parked nearby.
The man, who was taken into police custody, allegedly blamed the Jehovah'ss Witnesses for making him lose contact to his daughter.